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Chapter 2
Study Guide Answer Key
1. Name and describe the major parts of the
water cycle as shown on page 38.
Condensation: When water vapor cools and
changes from a gas to a liquid
Evaporation: When liquid water changes into a
gas
Runoff: Water, usually from precipitation, flows
across land and collects in rivers, streams and
the ocean
Precipitation: Rain, snow, sleet or hail
2. How do sleet and snow form?
Sleet: Rain falls through a layer of freezing air
and changes to ice.
Snow: Water vapor in the air changes directly
from a gas to a solid (ice crystal)
3. Describe the four main types of weather
fronts. How do they form and what kind of
precipitation do they bring?
Cold Front: Cold air mass pushes under warm air.
Brings thunderstorms, heavy rain or snow
followed by cooler weather.
Warm Front: Warm air mass moves over cold air.
Brings drizzly rain followed by clear warm
weather.
Occluded Front: Warm air mass is trapped
between two colder air masses. Brings cool
temperatures and large amounts of rain or snow.
Stationary Front: A cold air mass meets a warm
air mass but neither one has the strength to move
the other. Brings many days of cloudy, wet
weather.
4. Describe the eye of a hurricane?
Center of the hurricane. A core of warm,
relatively calm air with low pressure and light
winds
5. Describe the three major types of clouds.
What do the prefixes/suffixes cirro-, alto-, nimboand –nimbus mean?
- Cumulus – puffy, white clouds that tend to have
flat bottoms
- Stratus – form in layers & cover large areas of
the sky & often block out the sun
- Cirrus – thin, feathery clouds found at high
altitudes
- Nimbo – or – nimbus indicate clouds that are
likely to form precipitation
- Cirro – clouds formed at high altitudes
- Alto – clouds formed at middle altitudes
6. Describe the formation of tornadoes and
hurricanes.
Tornadoes - Formed when wind moving in two
directions causes a layer of air to start spinning
- When the funnel cloud reaches the ground it is
considered a tornado
Hurricanes – most powerful storms on Earth
- Start as a group of thunderstorms moving over
warm tropical water
- Winds traveling in two different directions cause
the storm to spin
- Fueled by warm water – loses its strength when
it reaches land or cooler water
7. Describe safety precautions you should take
during a hurricane, thunderstorm or tornado.
- Hurricane – listen to local TV & radio for
updates. Prepare a disaster supply kit with water
& non-perishable food. Board up windows if
necessary. Evacuate the area if instructed to.
- Thunderstorms – stay inside. If you’re caught
outside stay away from trees & bodies of water. If
you’re in the open, crouch down so you’re not the
tallest object in the area.
-Tornadoes – find shelter in a basement or an
interior room with no windows such as a
bathroom or closet. If outside, lie down in a field
or deep ditch.
8. What is fog?
Fog is a stratus cloud that has formed near the
ground
9. Define or describe:
- Isobar- lines that connect points of equal air
pressure on a weather map
- Meteorologist - person who observes & collects
data on atmospheric conditions to make weather
predictions
- Dew Point - the temperature at which gas
becomes a liquid
- Storm Surge - wall of water that builds up over
the ocean because of the strong winds and low
pressure during a hurricane